why spend a wad of money on store bought face mask with all the chemicals whose names you can pronounce when you can make your own at home, with ingredients that are already on your shopping list? And if you like me buy stuff and use it a few times only to dispose of it months later and repeat the cycle again all over again, this will help save you some money.

Below are masks made at home.

The first base for using all these masks is to wash your face with luke warm water. This will soften the dead skin and make the mask more effective. Oh! Remember, remember to always rinse twice and mask at least twice a week for good results. Don’t overdo it as you will be left in a far worse off position that you were in

Rooibos (Red) Tea mask

The mask will exfoliate and cleanse your face and is suitable for all skin types.

Put a bag of rooibos (red tea) in hot, not boiling water in a basin for 5 minutes. Take the bag out and pore contents in to a cup and mix with a spoon of yoghurt or honey or a bit of both. Gently put the mixture on your skin and leave in for 10 to 15 minutes. Wash your face in the tea water in small circular motion to gently scrub your skin.

Banana mask

Half a ripe banana is mashed to a mask consistency and then put on the face, leave for 30 minutes and wash off.

Oatmeal Mask

Can be used by all skin types but more beneficial for oily skin,

Soak oatmeal in warm water for a few minutes then add honey or yoghurt or a bit of both. Put this on your skin and wash it off with warm water while making small circular motions to exfoliate your skin.

Sugar

Sugar can be used to exfoliate the skin all over your body,

Lemon

Put a bit in your wash water when rinsing to get a matt finish or after washing your face put a few drops on a cotton ball and use as a toner.

Avocado

A teaspoon full can be used as a mask for dry skin, or used as a night repair. Just put on about a teaspoonful and wipe of excess with a dry towel just before you go to bed.

Late last year when my son turned 1, I decide to lose all the baby weight. Unlike the time before with so many failed attempts after my daughter was born, I decided that this will be different. I was also hoping that this will also support and motivate my husband to continue on his own weight loss. He was doing well on his own journey so far. I did a bit of research and a mixture was concocted using ingredients we already had in abundance at home.

Below are a few herbs and spices that have amazing weight loss properties and I will follow this with the concoction my husband drank that saw him shed centimetres faster than if he had gone to the gym.

The mixture helped reduce appetite and saw fewer meals and craving and the amount of food he consumed was also reduced.

These ingredients will astonish you and they are all present in a good curry.

Cayenne Pepper

For those of us who like I little heat in our food, this is almost always on the tray along with black pepper-more on the black pepper later. This pepper is filled with capsaicin; the compound that gives peppers their heat. It assist with the fight against weight gain by decreasing calorie intake( you will eat less) and shrinking fat tissue therefore lowering blood fat levels. It also temporarily increases thermo-genesis in your body, where your body burns fat to create heat. This increases your metabolism and reduces fat storage. This is also great when you have flue.

Cayenne Pepper

Cinnamon

I like to put a few sticks in my tea water along with ginger for variety but now I know the benefits are more than just taste. This spice helps to boost your metabolism and helps regulates blood sugar (this reduces cravings). Cinnamon has been found to significantly reduce blood sugar levels, triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes, as well as increase glucose metabolism by about 20 times. This is also great when you have flue.

Black Pepper

Black pepper contains piperine, which blocks the formation of new fat cells. When combined with capsaicin and other substances, black pepper was also found to burn as many calories as taking a 20-minute walk. It also assists with the absorption of other vitamins and minerals.

Mustard

Who does not like mustard on their hotdog? Mustard seeds have a thermo-genic effect which been shown to boost metabolic rate by 25 percent, which means you’ll burn calories more efficiently. In fact, just 3/5 teaspoon of mustard seeds daily may help you burn an extra 45 calories an hour.

Turmeric

Turmeric’s active ingredient is Cur-cumin, which reduces the formation of fat tissue by suppressing the blood vessels needed to form it, and therefore may contribute to lower body fat and retard weight gain. It also improves insulin resistance, hyper-glycaemia, hyper-lipidemia, and other inflammatory symptoms associated with obesity and metabolic disorders.

Ginger

Ginger is another thermo-genic spice that also has anti-inflammatory properties and is known to help soothe and relax your intestinal tract. Ginger has an appetite-suppressant effect which will curb cravings and reduce the amount of food you eat

All these spices can be consumed dry and ground like the kind you get from the spice shelves in the grocery store or fresh from the farmers market. By incorporating these ingredients in your cooking you can make a difference on your waist line

My husband’s mixture

Mixture

Equal measures e.g. (teaspoon) of the following ingredients, with lemon and honey to taste in a glass of warm water.